Comments on: Perfecting Panna Cotta

By: dana

dana — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:20:29 +0000

This recipe has no more ingredients than any other panna cotta, except to flavor it. Lime leaves and lemongrass come from asian markets here in seattle, and chamomile can come from the tea isle. If you don’t have access to these try flavoring a panna cotta with vanilla, simple and classic. I can’t offer alternatives to lemongrass and kaffir, though, their flavor is absolutely unique.

You can order leaf gelatin from the king arthur flour website.

By: clare

clare — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:15:58 +0000

where can I get kafir lime leaves, chamomile buds and lemongrass.I live in an area that thinks parsley is foreign muck!

I have had supermarket panna cotta, and seen it made on TV and there seem to be zillions of recipes - why is this one so different and have so many ingredients? It’s hard to even get leaf gelatine where I live, and we have no car to travel. Any advice on alternatives to the kafir lime leaves, chamomile buds and lemongrass would be helpful.

By: Rogan

Rogan — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:32:16 +0000

This turned out really well. I messed it up a bit (I was using gelatin packets and the milk seized when I slowly cooled it to room temperature), but it still turned out great. I ended up flavoring it a bit with vanilla, and using a reduced balsamic glaze spattered artistically on top.

By: Rogan

Rogan — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:34:16 +0000

This is a great post, and looks like a great recipe. A friend once made this for me with aged balsamic poured on top — fantastic. I’m going to make this tonight, with maybe orange zest, or vanilla as the only flavoring, and serve with either aged balsamic or maybe reduced balsamic tomorrow as the finale of a five course dinner. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

By: dana

dana — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:23:29 +0000

Michael- No, agar wont give the same exact texture. But it’s probably worth playing with. While it won’t “melt” it will “crumble”, and at low levels, might do so in such a subtle manner that it seems to “melt”.

By: Michael Natkin

Michael Natkin — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:16:48 +0000

Well for me, I’m lacto-ovo vegetarian but not vegan - so I’m happy to use milk and cream, just not the gelatin. Actually I like to douse myself daily in as many dairy products as possible. I think kayenne has a good point about mouthfeel though. The agar won’t want to melt in your mouth the way gelatin would.

By: clotilde

clotilde — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:30:25 +0000

Thanks for the speedy response, and the tip about the metal cups, too!

By: dana

dana — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:37:31 +0000

Clotilde- My sheets weigh 2.5 grams a piece. Hope this helps!

By: dana

dana — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:30:08 +0000

Re: Natkin- I have been spending all this time thinking about the gelling agent, but you can’t use milk or cream, so how are you going to make a panna cotta at all? Agar set soy milk?

TDW- I use metal cups that transfer heat. Then I dip them in hot water and turn the panna cotta out.

Lyn- only the half a cup of cream you are going to whip lightly needs to be very cold. The other cream should be cool.

By: clotilde

clotilde — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:44:42 +0000

Thank you, Dana, for sharing this recipe and all the science behind it — I look forward to trying your method.

If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me how much your gelatin leaves weigh? I’ll be using the ones I buy here in French grocery stores, and I’d like to make sure they’re the same format. Thank you!

[Re: the use of agar-agar vs. gelatin, I've played around with the amounts of agar-agar per cup of milk/cream, but I've never been quite satisfied with the texture that it creates -- slightly crunchy and too firm.]